Xbox One stock will be available on day one, Microsoft’s Spencer assures

Xbox One pre-orders may be rolling on as you read this, but Microsoft’s Phil Spencer doesn’t want there to be a shortage of units come launch day. That – to him – is a terrible consumer experience he’d rather avoid.

Speaking with GameInformer, Spencer said, “You want people to be able to walk in the store and buy one on day one, so you’re trying to manage the inventory that isn’t pre-sold. It’s not a yield problem, it’s us trying to manage the hardware side.

“I want parents who don’t think about pre-ordering electronics to be able to walk in and have a chance to find a box. There might be a line, but I don’t want it to be that if you didn’t pre-order in September, you can’t get one. That doesn’t feel like a great consumer experience.

“Availability should feel a lot better than it did for 360. If people want to pick up more controllers and games, they’ll be there. We feel really good about our pre-order number, and we’re managing it through allocation rather than demand. [Pre-order] isn’t the business. It’s way more important to me what happens when people walk in the store. The business is selling consoles.”

Are you confident that you’ll be able to pick up an Xbox One at launch, or have you pre-ordered the console just to be safe? Let us know below.